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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Looking for Art Suggestions for S&W Light from Current and Past FGG Releases

Swords & Wizardry Light is a labor of love. It is an offering to the OSR from Frog God Games and myself. As such, you should have input as to how it gets to show itself off.

We (as in you and me) have access to nearly the whole Frog God Games and Necromancer Games art libraries.

What we (as in FGG and myself) need are some suggested pieces. Something that you feel screams old school gaming, Swords & Wizardry, amazing fantasy - if it speaks to you, we want to know about it.

We can only squeeze in 3 or 4 pieces but I'd really like to see what the community identifies with.

What we need in your comments below is:

1 - Book it appears in

2 - Page number it is on

3 - Brief description in your words

4 - Why you think it should be chosen

What do you get in return? Bragging rights for having helped chose the art direction for Swords & Wizardry Light.

Now, for those still reading. Over the next few days I'll be giving away some of the duplicates in my Swords & Wizardry collection. These will be "flash giveaways", only accepting entries for 12 or 24 hours, depending on how I feel when the post goes up. I'll only be able to ship to the US, so if you enter from outside the states, you'll get a $10 RPGNow GC instead. Sorry about that.

Core rules book, page 11, picture of adventuring party. Because that is where this all starts - it's about the group.

Complete rules, page 114, troll. This has always been an iconic monster to me and I love this depiction. The troll is a widely recognized Hadassah, and the first time you encounter one and learn it has regeneration...well, it is memorable.

Cleric, S&W White Box rules, Second Print, p. 5 -- the cleric is all too often portrayed as a stodgy looking fighter with a mace. Not this guy! He is dynamically depicted and obviously laying some divine judgment on some Chaos tainted wretch! It's the iconic cleric illustration to my mind (note: the image as it appears is either reversed or, less likely, the cleric is drawn as a 'leftie')

The Cleric, as I posted above, I should have noted as being the the 2nd Brave Halfling Press 2nd Printing ... just in case it makes a difference. The picture appears in other S&W rule books IIRC, but this is the first instance I found.

Not sure on page count and layout on the rules lite version, but I figured I would list all the art that I really liked - maybe others do too. I don't have a copy of the Otus cover printing but plan to pick it up with the Kickstarter 3rd printing add-ons.

I love the two simple images on pages 21 and 22 of S&W (Core Rules): the various gear items and the various armors with AC scores. They scream of Old School manuals where gear was illustrated as if presented to be acquired and sometimes you'd end up buying something just because its illustration looked good.

(I'd love to get in list for Quests of Doom 3, for Swords & Wizardry - but I am out of the US)

Swords & Wizardry Cole Rules (2011, Peter Mullin Cover)-Page 9: Adventurers approach ruined statue - It raises questions that hint at an adventure. Was the statue actually a stone golem? Why are the adventurers wary while the natives are relaxed?- Page 23: Lizard Man on Lizard Mount - Reminds me of a similar image on page 3 of the Holmes Basic rulebook- Page 105: Lich - Just a beautiful monster image- Cover: Looting the giant skeleton - Reminiscent of both Erol Otus and the 1E PHB.

Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook (2012, Erol Otus cover)- Cover: Against the spirit - Great action scene, great lighting, and so reminiscent of Erol Otus (but I guess it helps that it IS Erol Otus)- Page 34: Fighter vs Goblins - An active scene that brings to mind Russ Nicholson's work on the 1E Fiend Folio

(Does this warrant another Quests of Doom 3 entry? Huh huh does it does it? ;) )

I suggest the dungeon exterior shot from p74 of S&W Complete 2nd Printing. It is clean. I don't like a lot of the shaded grey illustrations from Frog God Games because they are too muddy. The illustration invites me to ask a lot of questions: What are those statues and what do they mean? Are they statutes? Are those tombs opposite the dungeon? What creature does the skull come from? Is it real or a replica? Who used to live there? etc. etc. etc.

This illustration has me hooked as a player to create a character to go explore it and as a Referee to answer all my questions as I design the dungeon depicted. In other words, it makes me want to play.

It was suggested in a previous comment up there, but I'll cast another vote for the Troll on pg. 114 of S&W Complete. It strikes me as a good all-around "monster" illustration when space is at a premium, and I think it would still be clear what it is even if the image is shrunk down a bit.

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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (thank you Kickstarter) (edit) BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and will soon have some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep shipping shortly in my grubby hands awaiting a review..

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls (and still waiting on dT&T to ship).

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 48, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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